This invention claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-166000, filed on Jun. 2, 2000, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle lamp for use in the illumination of a headlamp, fog lamp, etc., and more particularly relates to a vehicle lamp design which allows for flexibility in the design of the overall shape of the vehicle lamp such that it can comply with vehicle body design requirements while providing high utilization efficiency of light emitted from the light source.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIGS. 7-9 show conventional vehicle lights 90 and 80. FIG. 7 illustrates a first conventional vehicle light 90 which includes a light source 91, a parabolic group reflecting surface 92 having a rotated parabolic surface with light source 91 as its focus, and a lens 93. Light emitted from the light source 91 is reflected by the parabolic group reflecting surface 92 such that it is parallel to an optical axis of the vehicle light 90. The light travels through a lens 93 having prismatic cuts 93a on its inner surface. The prismatic cuts 93a determine the light distribution pattern of the vehicle light 90. Although not illustrated, the parabolic group reflecting surface 92 can be a complex surface including parabolic cylinder elements. In such a case, the lens cuts 93a are not always necessary, and light distribution patterns of the vehicle light 90 can be determined solely by the parabolic group reflecting surface 92.
FIG. 8 illustrates a second conventional vehicle light 80 which includes a light source 81, an ellipse group reflecting surface 82 such as a rotated elliptic surface having the light source 81 as its first focus, a shading plate 83 located in the vicinity of the second focus of the ellipse group reflecting surface 82, and an aspherical projection lens 84. Light rays emitted from the light source 81 are reflected by the ellipse group reflecting surface 82 and converge at the second focus. The shading plate 83 blocks unnecessary light rays to form a light distribution pattern such that luminous flux at the second focus can have a cross sectional image which is appropriate for being projected by the aspherical projection lens 84. The aspherical projection lens 84 projects the cross-sectional image of luminous flux at the second focus towards an illumination direction of the vehicle light 80. The second conventional vehicle light 80 can be referred to as a projection-type vehicle light based upon its optical principles.
FIG. 9 illustrates a third conventional vehicle light 80, which is a projection-type vehicle light. The third conventional vehicle light 80 includes a light source 81, a plurality of, e.g., two, ellipse group reflecting surfaces 85 and 86 whose longitudinal axes are inclined to the outside relative to an optical axis of the third conventional vehicle light 80, and a plurality of, e.g., two, aspherical projection lenses 87 and 88, each corresponding to the ellipse group reflecting surfaces 85 and 86, respectively.
Conventional vehicle lights 90 and 80 have at least the following problems. The overall shape of the conventional vehicle lights 90 and 80 is limited to being substantially circular, substantially elliptic, or substantially rectangular. Therefore, if it is required for the vehicle light 90 and 80 to have unique overall shapes, such as substantially L-shaped or T-shaped, from a viewpoint of automobile body design, it is impossible to achieve sufficient light amount and sufficient light distribution characteristics. Accordingly, the conventional vehicle lights 90 and 80 are not able to meet with market demands for design flexibility.
In order to resolve the aforementioned problems in the related art, in the present invention, there is provided a vehicle light that can include a light source, a first reflecting surface system and a second reflecting surface system. The first reflecting surface system can include an ellipse group reflecting surface, a parabolic group reflecting surface, or combination thereof. The second reflecting surface system can include an ellipse group reflecting surface having a first focus on the light source and a second focus located away from and either above or below the first reflecting surface system for collecting light rays emitted from the light source that are directed to the second focus. The vehicle light can also include a parabolic group reflecting surface having its focus in the vicinity of the second focus of the elliptic group reflecting surface of the second reflecting surface system for directing light rays towards an illumination direction of the vehicle light, and can include an adjusting reflecting plate located in the vicinity of the second focus of the ellipse group reflecting surface of the second reflecting surface system for adjusting the directions of light rays traveling from the ellipse group reflecting surface to the parabolic group reflecting surface of the second reflecting surface system.